Alex Smith Should Start, Not "Wild" Kaep

By Chris Jackson Wednesday November 21, 2012SANTA CLARA-Interesting thing for the 49ers to do, and that’s having Colin Kaepernick starting over Alex Smith no matter what.

Makes me wonder what’s happening. Yeah Kaepernick played great Monday night against a great Bears defense, which is ranked among the best in the NFL. Colin Kaepernick completed 16 of 23 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns against the 11thranked pass defense in Chicago, which averages giving up 217 yards per game. So that’s pretty good against a good Chicago defense. Here’s one thing, Alex Smith is completing 70 percent of his passes and many analysts say he looks better then Kaepernick in practice and in the game, but not according to Harbuagh the last few weeks. This isn’t about Smith’s concussion either according to Sports Illustrated. That really makes you wonder what is going on in Santa Clara at the 49ers practice facility. But Smith doesn’t seemconcerned. “When the next guy steps up, it’s good for the team,” said Smith on Kaepernick. “Let’s not get this wrong, it’s a great thing.

Harbaugh says he tends to go with the “hot hand” and he’s 100 percent correct that Kaepernick has the hot hand, but you can’t judge that after one game, especially in this day and age when people overreact after one game and proclaim that a certain player is a star. Take a look at quarterback Matt Flynn last year. He threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in one game and so many people overreacted and believed he was a star, but don’t give the fans all the blame, that’s pretty good numbers in one game. Then Seattle went crazy and decided to give Flynn a $26 million contract, and look what happened, he didn’t even win the starting job over rookie Russell Wilson-who many proclaim doesn’t have enough size even though he is proving he can be a good quarterback, and that’s not overreacting, that’s a fact by many front offices standards. That shows how mislead the Seattle franchise got by Flynn’s performance in one game last year. Maybe they should have rethought whether he’s really that good or that was a fluke-the answer to his one game performance is that it was a fluke. One thing I’m not saying is that Colin is a bad quarterback, because he’s pretty good. But he’s not someone I would put all of my trust in. If I were coach Harbaugh, I would prefer Alex Smith any day over Kaepernick because he has more experience and think he is more suited to the NFL level. And don’t get me wrong, Kaep will get his chance someday to be a full time starter, but this isn’t the year, especially if they want to make a run in the playoffs, but to be honest, I don’t think either is a Super Bowl quarterback. And now there’s a controversy over Kaepernick starting. Kaepernick doesn’t want a controversy as no one really does, no matter what they say. “I don’t want there to be a controversy,” Kaepernick said. “I just want to do whatever’s best for this team. Whatever is going to help us win games.” No one wants this type of controversy. It’s the last thing you want to deal with in a talented Niner team. They are better off running what they’ve run all year. Just run Kaepernick out of the wild catoffense. In the end, Alex Smith should be the starter, not Wild Kaep. Kaepernick is a wild cat type player for now, and that’s the bottom line.

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Jets Need To Figure Things Out Fast

By Chris Jackson Sunday September 30, 2012 EAST RUTHERFORD-Rex Ryan can’t hold in his anger, but how could anyone with their performance? “I apologize for my language,” said Ryan, so angry after the 49ers’ 34-0 victory Sunday that he had trouble even getting started. “I was going to say we got our butt kicked, but really ... there’s no two ways, in or outs about it.” And his language expressed his anger.

The Jets got shutout and their defense allowed 34 points. Is there anything worse for a coach?-besides going 0-16. Now the stats might not show their offense needs tweaking. They are 17thin the league in passing yards per game (230) which is surprising. But Mark Sanchez needs to make smarter choices with his passes. He needs to remain calm in the pocket, and if he has to, throw the ball away. They are 2-2, but their defense is in need of repairs, especially after hearing Darrelle Revis will be out for the year.

Antonio Cromartie has to carry the load in the secondary. But don’t expect him to carry as big of a load as Revis did before his injury. Kyle Wilson has replaced Revis at cornerback, but with their player in the secondary out, and with a weak front seven, what can they do? There isn’t many good players on the market that can help out their defense. The front seven for the Jets is among the worst in the NFL. They are giving up 148.7 rushing yards per game-which is 28th in the league. And when you can’t stop the run along with the pass in the pros, you’re going to be in need of help. They gave up 245 yards rushing Sunday against San Francisco, which left Rex Ryan sick. “It’s obviously unacceptable,” Ryan snarled. “It starts with the coaches. The players are not going to be in on Monday or Tuesday. They’ve got to dig deep, look down at themselves.” Along with All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis out, they got another significant injury to top receiver Santonio Holmes. He will get an MRI Monday to determine the extent of his foot injury. And if he misses some time, they will be without their star players. “We’ve got to play with who we’ve got,” said quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was also without injured tight end Dustin Keller. “None of those guys are going to get better overnight.” Mark Sanchez completed 13 of 29 passes for 103 yards and an interception. He also lost a fumble. By the end of the game, Jets fans were booing the offense and were chanting Teebow! That’s not what you want from your fans. So if that’s not what they want, they need to fix their problems fast.

Goodell and Refs Union Have Been Meeting for Too Long

By Chris Jackson Monday September 24, 2012The good times are over for these replacement referees and it may be a long time before Goodell and the refs union come up with an agreement. In a day where football is what a lot of people unemployed have, can these replacement refs turn away any fans from football? Yes and no. It is a mixture of both. But when you can’t come up with an agreement-and it’s been since June-it makes Goodell look worse than many fans already interpret him and it gets players, fans and coaches mad. CBS’ Shannon Sharpe said, “They’re killing the tempo and flow of the game.” ESPN’s Cris Carter said, “There is a great deal of disrespect from the players to the referees, and we’ve never had this before.” And Carter is right. When you have multiple calls being missed in games, there is tons of disrespect from the players to the refs. Look at the 49ers and Vikings game Sunday-there was a block-in-the-back called on San Francisco (and they were the kicking team) and the rules state there can’t be blocking on the kicking team. But after a short meeting on the field between the refs, the refs took away the call. Harbaugh was also awarded with two challenges after calling his final timeout-he was awarded with his first challenge right after he called his final timeout-he got that call on the field overturned and he got his timeout back along with the challenge-which doesn’t seem possible after you call your final timeout. In Oakland, Raiders wide-receiver Darius Heyward-Bey got a helmet-to-helmet hit from Steelers safety Ryan Mundy-there was no flag thrown for the hit and Heyward-Bey laid in the endzone for 12 minutes and was carted off the field. Those incidences in Minnesota and Oakland are just a few of many. So can Goodell and the refs union come up with an agreement?-sources say both sides are far apart. But in a day where football is all a lot of people have, Goodell and the refs union is ruining football for them.

Cardinals Defense Main Reason For 3-0 Start

By Chris Jackson Sunday September 23, 2012

PHOENIX-Defense.

That is what has helped the Cardinals defense lockdown the Eagles explosive to just 6 points and to their first 3-0 start since 1974. "I'm going to enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but the biggest thing is being 3-0," Kolb said. "Being 3-0 with the teams that we've played and the fashion that we've won, it's been exciting." This 27-6 victory over Philadelphia comes just one week after a 20-18 victory at New England when Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed the game-winning field goal at the end. Arizona’s defense forced 3 Eagles turnovers. Eagles quarterback Michael Vick fumbled twice, and one of his fumbles was returned 93 yards for an Arizona touchdown which basically sealed the deal. Vick completed just half of his passes (17-37) for 217 yards and no touchdowns. He was also sacked five times. "I wish I had all the answers right now," Vick said. "The only thing I can tell you is we didn't play our best, Nowhere near what we have potential to do." The only real thing that could get past the Cardinals defense was the Eagles rushing attack. Philadelphia averaged 6 yards per carry and rushed for 126 yards-LaSean McCoy rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries and Bryce Brown rushed for 28 yards on 4 carries. When you can have an accomplished defense along with a solid running game led by Ryan Williams (80 yards rushing on 13 carries Sunday) and an Pro-Bowl receiver in Larry Fitzgerald (114 yards on 9 catches for one touchdown Sunday) this Cardinals squad can be one that can possibly contend for a playoff spot. But don’t forget about quarterback Kevin Kolb who completed 17 of 24 passes for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns. And so far Arizona is 3-0 and leads the NFC West-since the 49ers lost at Minnesota and fell to 2-1.

Rebuilding Year In Oakland

By Chris Jackson Sunday September 16, 2012

MIAMI-13 points against Miami Sunday, 27 the last two games is indicating this season will be a rebuilding season in Oakland. They even have lost receiver Jacoby Ford for the season. So what else is there to show that this is a rebuilding year? The Raiders only have a couple of receivers to go to. They are Denarius Moore, Darius Heyward-Bey and Rod Steater (every once in a while). The third down efficiency for the Raiders against Miami was 8 percent (1 for 12) and allowed the Dolphins to convert on third downs 9 of 17 times. Reggie Bush was all over the Raiders defense. He rushed for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had a 23 yard touchdown run where he broke four tackles and a 65 yard run where no one could catch him. But wasn’t the Dolphins running game a weakness for them? Apparently not against Oakland. The Dolphins sealed the deal in the final quarter and a half with touchdown drives of 75 yards and two 80 yard touchdown drives. "We felt our tempo would be a key," Bush said. "We pressed that tempo and felt like we wore them down and just continued to pound the ball." Oakland’s running game has been failing these first two weeks. McFadden had 22 yards rushing on 11 carries this week and just 32 yards rushing against San Diego last Monday. Seems like the zone blocking scheme is a problem for him again like it was a few years ago. But the problem is with zone blocking holes will be open quickly and close quickly and in man blocking there is usually a hole that is there for most of the play. They are 27th in the league in rushing yards per game (45). The defense doesn’t seem to be getting destroyed like last year. They are 12th in the league in opponent passing yards per game (226) and 3rd in the league in opponent rushing yards per game (32). At least they are getting more rushing yards then they are giving up. But in the NFL you need offense. This is a passing league and if the Raiders can’t have all their receivers playing, that will hurt them down the stretch and could cost them a playoff spot. At least Carson Palmer threw for 373 yards and one touchdown against Miami. But he also threw an interception. If he can limit interceptions and not force things, this team could improve a whole lot. But don’t forget, he doesn’t have all of his receivers. And he even has to target Darren McFadden on a lot of plays, and you can’t go to him all the time, that gives a lot away to the opposing defense. That’s why San Diego and Miami have stopped him and the Raiders offense with ease.

Raiders fans can’t even go through another rebuilding year. They’ve been dealing with these since after their Super Bowl run in 2002. Isn’t it time they can give the fans what they asked for? Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp might not be the long term solution to the Raiders. He brings a lot of conservative play calling. That explains why on multiple short third down opportunities against Miami they didn’t even have a route for a receiver to get to the first down marker.

But if the Raiders don’t make the playoffs again (they haven’t made them since 2002 and they are 0-2 so far this season) don’t expect fans to pack the Coliseum every game next year.

Ravens Defense Still Stellar

By Chris Jackson Monday September 10, 2012

BALTIMORE-The Ravens defense forces two turnovers, and holds Cincinnati to 13 points in a shellacking of the Bengals. Baltimore’s defense still dominated even in the first game under new defensive coordinator Dean Pees. They played without Terrell Suggs, who was the NFL defensive play of the year last year-recorded 14 sacks. Both of the turnovers Baltimore forced, they both led to touchdowns. The first one, Ed Reed intercepted a Andy Dalton pass in the third quarter for a 34 yard interception return for a touchdown. The second one was a Ray Lewis fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that led to a Ray Rice one yard touchdown run. Along with the two turnovers, the Ravens defense sacked Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton four times for a loss of 28 yards for Dalton. Haloti Ngata recorded two of the sacks while Ray Lewis recorded one sack and Courtney Upshaw and Pernel McPhee assisted on a sack-that means both got a half of a sack in the statbook. Ray Lewis led the Ravens with 14 sacks in a dominant effort to prove that even though he might be past his prime, he is still one of the best players on the defensive side of the ball. The entire Ravens team worked as a whole Joe Flacco threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns to go along with the great defense. "Joe kind of got us into a rhythm and always kept their defense off balance," Lewis said. "We've practiced against this offense all offseason, so to see it now,when everything's real, I think you have to take your hats off to how hard weworked as a team."

RG3 Dominates Debut

By Chris Jackson Sunday September 9, 2012

NEW ORLEANS-Robert Griffin dominates in debut as he threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns. He made himself look like LeBron, just playing so easy waiting for the right moments to make the big plays. Along with his 320 yards passing, he rushed for 42 yards on 10 carries. He completed 19 of his 26 passes for two touchdowns and no interceptions while getting sacked just once. He had a stunning passer rating of 139.9. "Robert did an unbelievable job to play the way that he did in his first game in the National Football League," said Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, marveling at "the poise that he played with and some of the throws that he made."

Griffin connected with top receiver Pierre Garcon four times for 109 yards and one touchdown.

"It's great for any quarterback to get a couple of easy passes at the beginning of a game so you can get into a rhythm," Griffin said. "They were giving us those looks and I took advantage of them."

He made it look effortless getting through the Saints defense.

Drew Brees threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns, but two interceptions. He completed under half of his 52 pass attempts (24).

"That makes you angry," Brees said, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head as he talked about completing less than half of his passes. "We're better than that and we're going to be better than that."

But even though it is just the end of week one, will RG3 have a better year than Andrew Luck?

Andrew Luck Ok in Debut

By Chris Jackson Sunday September 9, 2012

CHICAGO-Rookie Andrew Luck threw for 309 yards and one touchdown in a 41-21 loss at Chicago (1-0). And he did not dazzle like second pick Robert Griffin did for Washington. Luck’s touchdown pass was to Donnie Avery early in the fourth. He also threw three interceptions, lost a fumble and got sacked three times. "There will be a lot of positives, a lot of negatives, we'll try to learn from it," Luck said. "I'm still disappointed fresh off what happened but we'll get over it." He completed 23 of 45 passes and on his three sacks he lost 16 yards. But Luck posted similar statistics in his debut to Peyton Manning in his NFL debut with the Colts. In Manning’s debut, he threw for 302 yards-seven less then Luck (309) and threw for one touchdown and three interceptions. He also recorded the loss. Hopefully Luck goes better than the Colts (0-1) did in Manning’s his rookie season (2-14). Don’t forget that Luck faced a talented Bears squad with a solid defense and a physical running game led by Matt Forte-who rushed for 80 yards on 16 carries for one touchdown. Michael Bush also added 42 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns for Chicago. He was mainly the third down and goal-line back. Luck connected with former Stanford teammate Coby Fleener six times for 82 yards and also connected with receiver Reggie Wayne nine times for 135 yards. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler outperformed Luck for the final 3 ½ quarters-he got sacked multiple times on the first drive of the game. He completed 21 of 35 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns. And he also threw one interception.